Jul 9, 2002 3 min read

BROWNSVILLE – John Martin, M.D., on staff at Brownsville General Hospital and Centerville Clinics, is championing efforts locally to educate area women and men bout how to prevent osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is a disease in which the normal bone structure is reduced in both size and strength, resulting in a much greater chance of developing a fracture with only minor or no actual trauma. It is present in about 10 million Americans – 80 percent of them women and 20 percent men.

“Osteoporosis is treatable and preventable through education, appropriate screening diagnosis and medication,” said Martin, who is board certified in both internal medicine and gerontology.

Osteoporosis is appropriately called the “silent disease” because there are no symptoms until the patient develops a fracture, often with devastating results. It is also silent in that only about 20 percent of the people with the disease are being treated. This is far lower than for other chronic diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure.

These fractures are not a trivial problem. Fractures of the backbones can cause respiratory and digestive problems. Hip fracture causes a 25 percent mortality in the first year, and more than half of its victims will never return to their previous independent lifestyle.

The causes of osteoporosis are complex. Most people think of the bone as an inert substance. Actually, it is highly metabolically active with specialized cells continuously breaking done and rebuilding bone tissue. It is an imbalance between these forces that causes most cases of osteoporosis. In women, loss of female hormones after menopause causes rapid loss of bone mass.

Lifestyle factors are also important. It is well known that smoking, alcohol use and inactivity aggravate osteoporosis. People of Caucasian and Asian descent have a higher rate of osteoporosis.

Like all diseases, it is better to prevent osteoporosis than it is to treat it. Prevention includes adequate intake of calcium and Vitamin D, weight-bearing exercises and in women, hormone replacement after menopause.

Several effective medications for osteoporosis are now available. They work largely to slow down reabsorption of bone. While they cannot undo the process of osteoporosis, they have been proven to reduce the risk of fracture. Your doctor can determine which drug is best for you, depending on your other medical conditions. Numerous more effective drugs are under development.

“I think it is likely that the scourge of osteoporosis will be greatly reduced in the next decade,” Martin said during a recent meeting of the Seniority Group at Brownsville General Hospital.

The following tips are offered to prevent osteoporosis:

– Getting adequate dietary calcium and vitamin D supplements.

– Not smoking.

– Moderate alcohol intake.

– Weight-bearing exercises.

– Bone density testing in women during and after menopause and probably in men after age 75.

– Supporting organizations such as The National Osteoporosis Foundation, which encourages research in and public awareness of the disease.

Any group interested in an educational presentation on the diagnosis and prevention of osteoporosis should call Brownsville General Hospital at 724-785-1999.